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The aviation market is clearly at the top of the cycle. While the market has evolved quickly in the last few years, it is about to start changing even faster. New international regulations – like Open Skies – will reshape the global market. Coping with this fast paced change takes imagination, it takes in-depth knowledge of the regulatory framework, and it takes insight into the challenges that may trip up industry players. In-house counsel need to identify key issues before they happen and lawyers need to know how they affect their clients. Financiers need to know how regulation and the law affect their business. What will be the penalty for not knowing the full repercussions of the newest legal practice?
Our 2nd Annual AirLaw Conference provides the ideal forum to discuss the key industry questions:
- How is the industry changing and what will be the practical effect of implementing EU/US Open Skies, ASU and Cape Town?
- What are the newest legal challenges in structuring finance options?
- How will changes to insurance such as AVN67C change how lessors and airlines operate?
- What is acceptable and unacceptable under competition law in practice?
- Running an airline: Impact of air navigation charges, fuel tax and the operational costs of ETS
Attending will be the industry’s leading law firms and in-house counsel representing lessors, airlines, financiers and manufacturers will be there. Those financiers who want to keep abreast of the law that affects them will also be there. Together they will be examining the latest regulation, taking a look at insurance and liability claims and considering the financial challenges that industry player’s face.
Register today if you want to make sure you have the information to win the deals you want.
We will look forward to welcoming you to London in May.
Speakers:
- Janet Dhillon, Vice President and Counsel, US Airways
- Jochem Croon, General Counsel, Transavia
- Edmundo Olivares Dufóo, Senior Vice President and General Counsel, Aeroméxico
- Erwin den Dikken, General Counsel, AerCap
- David Bartlett, Senior Vice President and Counsel, GECAS
- Darren Wormald, Senior Counsel, Engine Lease Finance Corporation
- Greg Azzara, Head of Legal, Babcock & Brown
- Patrick Treacy, Vice President, Insurance, AWAS
- Matthias Reuleaux, In-House Counsel, Norddeutsche Landesbank
- Katherina Floß, Deputy Head, Credit Law, HSH Nordbank
- Andrew Steinberg, former Assistant Secretary for Aviation and International Affairs, US Government
- Declan Corry, Head of Charges, Eurocontrol
- Scott Wilson, General Counsel, Pratt & Whitney
- Tony McCarthy, Executive Director, Willis Aerospace
- Barry Moss, Principal, Avocet Insurance Consultants
Testimonials:
Scott Wilson, General Counsel, Pratt & Whitney
“As our industry has matured and changed, so has this valuable conference adapted over the years to meet the knowledge needs of lawyers”
Douglas Ochs Adler, Legal Counsel, Export Import Bank of the United States
“Whether in-house, outside or government lawyer, this is a definite ‘go to’ event. The topics were timely and relevant and the speakers were quite knowledgeable with a high level of expertise”
Nadia Scerri, General Counsel, Air Malta
“The conference is a great opportunity to get a bird’s eye view of ‘what’s on’ in the aviation law sphere”
Declan Corry, Head of Charges, Eurocontrol
“Very useful in keeping up to date with changes in global aviation financing law and practice”
Airlines that have already confirmed their attendance:
Aeromexico ● Transavia ● Singapore Airways ● EasyJet ● KLM Royal Dutch Airlines ● Malaysia Airlines ● Ejtihad Airways ● Ethiopia Airlines ● Alaska Air ● Norwegian Air Shuttle |
Agenda
Day One: Tuesday, 27th May 2008
8:30 Registration and morning coffee
9:00 Chairman’s opening remarks
Alastair Whyte, Group Publisher, Airfinance Journal
9:10 Keynote panel: Legal issues facing the aviation industry
- Cape Town, EU/US Open Skies and ASU – what next?
- Update on the implementation of recent regulation
- Outlook for the aviation insurance market
- Green update – are we meeting targets?
- Challenges in cross-border transactions
- Liability and compensation – what is the real cost to airlines?
Janet Dhillon, Vice President and Counsel, US Airways
Jochem Croon, General Counsel, Transavia
Edmundo Olivares Dufóo, Senior Vice President and General Counsel, Aeroméxico
9:50 Leasing to Brazil, Russia, India and China (BRIC)
- Selecting local counsel – what service level do financiers expect?
- Building relationships with established maintenance providers
- Engines – how and why are they sometimes treated differently to aircraft?
- Local regulatory oversight and EU blacklisting
- Assessing the efficacy, experience and independence of the local courts
- Default, registration and repossession in practice – ease and promptness
Moderator: Ravi Nath, Partner, Rajinder Narain & Co
David Bartlett, Senior Vice President and Counsel, GECAS
Erwin den Dikken, General Counsel, AerCap
Darren Wormald, Senior Counsel, Engine Lease Finance Corporation
Greg Azzara, Head of Legal, Babcock & Brown
10:30 Morning coffee and networking
11:10 Legal issues shaping available financing options
- The impact of the credit crunch – what are the key structures that are emerging?
- Will ASU encourage export credit as a source of finance?
- Will some options become more popular because of Cape Town?
- Islamic structures – Ijara vs Murabaha
- How will manufacturers’ policies on PDP financing affect financing?
- Benefits of accessing the public capital markets through EETCs
- Exit financing strategies – EU compared with US law
Robin Hallam, Partner, Lovells
11:40 Financing the A380: The legal challenges the team faced
- The structures used in the contract
- How was the debt and equity put together?
- What were the challenges that shaped negotiations?
- What are the legal idiosyncrasies to consider when dealing with the A380?
Matthias Reuleaux, In-House Counsel, Norddeutsche Landesbank
Gavin Hill, Partner, Clyde & Co
Peter Marwood, Senior Associate, Lovells
12:20 Lunch
13:50 Insurance: Mitigating and transferring financiers’ risk
- Clarifying what terrorism insurance is available
- Comparing the aviation and marine market – what can we learn?
- Contingent, captive, political risk and credit insurance – does the market need them?
- Update on AVN67C – is there an increased exposure for managing agents?
- Limits of liability – should they be more consistent across all airlines?
Patrick Treacy, Vice President, Insurance, AWAS
Tony McCarthy, Executive Director, Willis Aerospace
Barry Moss, Principal, Avocet Insurance Consultants
14:30 Guide for airlines: Fuel tax, air navigation charges and infrastructure issues
- Fuel tax and Open Skies – how much discretion do states have?
- Air Traffic Control – are air navigation charges improving the system?
- Comparing the EU aviation infrastructure to the US system
- Planning for airport slot allocation and carbon credit auctions
- What cost effective operational mechanisms could airlines put in place?
Declan Corry, Head of Charges, Eurocontrol
15:10 Afternoon tea and networking
15:40 EU/US collaboration in practice
- Where do regulators intend to lead the market?
- Liberalization in the wake of the EU/US Air Transport Agreement and Second Stage Negotiations
- Challenges expected in implementing the Agreement
- Cross border equity investments after Lufthansa/JetBlue
- How will US airlines access airport slots?
Andrew Steinberg, former Assistant Secretary for Aviation and International Affairs, US Government
16:10 Competition Law: Walking a fine line
- What collaboration is possible?
- Fare fixing and tariff co-ordination
- What are the dangers for dominant airlines?
- The penalties for non-compliance
Anita Mosner, Partner, Holland & Knight
16:40 Chairman’s closing remarks followed by drinks reception
Day Two: Wednesday, 28th May 2008
8:40 Morning coffee
9:00 Chairman’s opening remarks
Alastair Whyte, Group Publisher, Airfinance Journal
9:10 Manufacturers’ perspective: Engines vs. aircraft
- In-house counsel vs. law firms – their different roles in transactions
- Did ASU benefit engine and aircraft manufacturers equally?
- What are the legal conflicts between engines and aircraft?
- Has Cape Town encouraged market growth in unexpected countries?
- Legal opinions – who should give them and are they necessary?
Scott Wilson, General Counsel, Pratt & Whitney
9:50 The new Aircraft Sector Understanding (ASU)
- What will it achieve and how?
- How is ASU an improvement on Lasu?
- What will be the challenges to effective implementation of ASU?
- The Cape Town discount
Louis Emery, Senior Structured Finance Counsel, Export-Import Bank of the United States
Beatrice Tuffrau, Head of Airbus, Coface
Jan von Allwörden, Head of Underwriting, Euler Hermes
10:30 Morning coffee and networking
11:10 What are the benefits of offshore registration and financing?
- Comparing different offshore jurisdictions
- Under what circumstances can offshore registration be used?
- On balance sheet vs off balance sheet companies
- Enforcing share security and the effects of stamp duty
- The differences when dealing with the private register
Donald Malcolm, Partner, Conyers Dill & Pearman
11:40 Green wings: EU environmental policy and operating ETS
- Role of ICAO in deciding who is responsible for reducing emissions
- Alternatives to EU ETS and charges
- Flights in and out of the EU – the potential for another transatlantic dispute
- Administrating the EU ETS – monitoring, reporting, verification and costs
- Resolving ETS problems – scope for reliance on EU rights
- What will be the effect on business jets?
- Aviation and the trading of Kyoto credits and Carbon allowances within the ETS
Mark Bisset, Partner, Stephenson Harwood
Tim Johnson, Director, Aviation Environment Federation
João Vieira, Policy Officer, Aviation, Transport & Environment
12:20 Lunch
13:50 Cape Town update: Implementation
- Which countries have signed in the last year?
- Does Cape Town really promote standardisation?
- Working it through the system – has there been revision through practice?
- Is there evidence that ratifying Cape Town increases lessor presence?
- Cape Town ISIs and Basel II compliance
Katherina Floß, Deputy Head, Credit Law, HSH Nordbank
Michael Mulitz, Partner, Kaye Scholer
John Pritchard, Partner, Holland & Knight
14:30 Passenger Rights: PNR, denied boarding and safety issues
- How have airlines adjusted operations to allow for compensations?
- Pushing PNR – what are the data protection challenges for airlines?
- Punctual take off vs technical difficulties – does it cost the airline either way?
- What will be the effect of the trend of naming manufacturers and lessors in accident litigations?
Elizabeth Hichens, Associate, DLA Piper tbc
15:00 Dispute resolution and negotiation
- The role of external counsel in negotiating deals and contracts
- Insurance and liability disputes
- What are the strategies for dealing with disputes in different jurisdictions?
- Disputes with unions
Richard Parsons, Partner, Freshfields
15:30 Chairman’s closing remarks and afternoon coffee followed by close of conference
For further information, please contact:
Sarah Rixom, srixom@euromoneyplc.com - for speaking opportunities
Graham Sherwood, gsherwood@euromoneyplc.com - for sponsorship opportunities
Georgia Thomas, gthomas@euromoneyplc.com - for registrations and marketing opportunities
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